2012 -- H 7633

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LC00867

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2012

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A N A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY - OUTDOOR WOOD-FIRED HYDRONIC

HEATERS

     Introduced By: Representatives Flaherty, Chippendale, McNamara, Ruggiero, and Handy

     Date Introduced: February 16, 2012

     Referred To: House Environment and Natural Resources

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Title 23 of the General Laws entitled "HEALTH AND SAFETY" is hereby

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amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

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     CHAPTER 23.7

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OUTDOOR WOOD-FIRED HYDRONIC HEATERS

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     23-23.7-1. Purpose. -- The general assembly hereby finds and declares that outdoor

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wood-fired hydronic heaters, also known as outdoor wood-burning boilers or outdoor wood

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boilers may be recognized as a source of air pollution. Emissions from outdoor wood heaters that

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are a result of improper use or maintenance may have adverse health effects. The purpose of this

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chapter is to protect the public health, safety and welfare while maintaining homeowners’ rights

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to choose to heat their homes with a safe, economical, and ecologically plentiful fuel source.

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     23-23.7-2. Definitions. – The following words when used in this chapter shall have the

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following meaning:

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     (1) "Clean wood" means wood that has not been painted, stained, coated, preserved, or

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treated with chemicals, including, but not limited to, copper chromium arsenate, creosote, and

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pentachlorophenol. This definition does not include construction or demolition debris as defined

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in subdivision 23-18.9-7(4).

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     (2) “DEM Director” means the director of the department of environmental management

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or designee.

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     (3) “DOH Director” means the director of the department of health, or designee.

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     (4) “EPA” means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

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     (5) “Municipality” means a city or town. Municipality shall not mean village, or fire

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district.

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     (6) “Nuisance” means the use of any outdoor wood-fired hydronic heater in a manner that

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violates “Air Pollution Control Regulation No. 48” promulgated by the Rhode Island department

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of environmental management on April 14, 2011.

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     (7) “Grandfathered” means any devices that have been installed prior to July 1, 2012.

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So-called “Grandfathered” units are not exempt from section 23-23.7-3 and subsection 23-23.7-

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4(a) of this chapter regarding the lot size prohibition for OHH installations. All other applicable

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restrictions shall apply to these units including the “Nuisance clause” (section 23-23.7-9).

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     (8) “Outdoor wood-fired hydronic heater”, or “OHH” means a device:

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      (i) Designed to burn wood or other solid fuels;

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     (ii) That the manufacturer specifies for outdoor installation or in structures not normally

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occupied by humans; and

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     (iii) That heats building space and/or water through distribution through pipes of a fluid,

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typically water or a mixture of water and antifreeze, heated by the device.

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     (9) “Conventional outdoor wood-fired hydronic heater” means an outdoor wood-fired

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hydronic heater that has not been certified or qualified by the U.S. Environmental Protection

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Agency (EPA) as meeting any specific particulate matter emission.

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     (10) “Phase 1 outdoor wood-fired hydronic heater” means an outdoor wood-fired

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hydronic heater that has been certified or qualified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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(EPA) as meeting a particulate matter emission limit of 0.60 pounds per million British Thermal

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Units (BTUs) output and is labeled accordingly with an EPA label.

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     (11) "Phase II outdoor wood-fired hydronic heater" means an outdoor wood-fired

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hydronic heater that has been certified or qualified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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(EPA) as meeting a particulate matter emission limit of 0.32 pounds per million British Thermal

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Units (BTUs) output and is labeled accordingly with an EPA label.

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     (12) “Person” means any individual, partnership, firm or co-partnership, association,

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company, trust, corporation, department, bureau, agency, private or municipal authority, or any

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political subdivision of the state, the United States and or political subdivisions thereof, or any

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other entity recognized by law as subject to rights and duties.

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     23-23.7-3. Use or installation prohibited. -- (a) Effective upon passage, no person may

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use, allow to be used or install an OHH on property of a lot size less than one half (1/2) of one

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acre, or twenty-one thousand seven hundred eighty (21,780) square feet.

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     (b) Effective immediately, no person may install a conventional outdoor wood-fired

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hydronic heater in any location within the state of Rhode Island.

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     (c) Effective July 1, 2012, no person shall sell, offer for sale – be it public or private sale

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- an OHH that is not a Phase I or Phase 2 OHH for use in Rhode Island.

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     (d) Any OHH currently installed on a lot of this sub-standard size shall be removed

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within twenlve (12) months of the enactment of this chapter.

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     23-23.7-4. Setback and stack height requirements. -- No person shall install an OHH

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unless it: (1) Is installed at least fifty feet (50’) from the nearest property line and seventy-five

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feet (75’) from the nearest occupied building; and

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     (2) Is set back from the building it services in accordance to any manufacturer’s

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recommendations and;

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     (3) Has a permanently attached stack that is at least two feet (2’) higher than the height of

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adjacent occupied structures that are located within one-hundred fifty (150’) of the OHH.

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     23-23.7-5. Manner of installation. -- Effective July 1, 2012, no person shall install an

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OHH unless he or she first obtains all required permits from the appropriate authority for all

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mechanical, electrical and plumbing elements of the installation and these installations are

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approved and signed by said authority upon completion of the installation.

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     23-23.7-6. Permitted fuels. -- (a) No fuel except the following shall be burned in a

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outdoor wood-fired hydronic heater:

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     (1) Clean wood;

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     (2) Wood pellets made from clean wood;

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     (3) Home heating oil, natural gas, or propane that complies with all applicable sulfur

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limits and is used as a starter or supplemental fuel for a dual-fired outdoor wood-fired hydronic

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heater;

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     (4) Any other fuel approved by the director pursuant to duly-promulgated regulations.

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     (b) Outdoor wood-fired hydronic heaters specifically designed to burn wood pellet fuel

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with metered fuel and air feed and controlled combustion engineering that are operated according

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to manufacturer's specifications and that burn only wood pellet fuel shall be exempt from the

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provisions of this chapter.

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     23-23.7-7. Limitations on allowable fuels. – No person shall cause or allow any material

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to be burned in an OHH heater forbidden in section 23-23.7-6.

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     23-23.7-8. Municipal ordinances. -- Cities and towns shall have the authority and duty

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to enact and enforce ordinances that regulate the installation and use of OHH devices. Such

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ordinances shall establish setbacks and stack heights that are suitable to zoning and planning

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guidelines of said municipalities that are equal to, or more stringent than those set forth in this

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chapter.

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     23-23.7-9. Nuisance clause. -- If the owner or operator of an outdoor wood-fired

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hydronic heater as defined in this chapter operates the OHH in a manner which causes a nuisance

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or is injurious to the public health, the director of DEM, or director of DOH may, in writing,

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order that the use of the OHH shall be discontinued until the cause of the nuisance has been

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rectified in the prescribed manner indicated by the written order. The DEM director, and DOH

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director shall provide technical assistance to the municipal authorities in the determination of,

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declaration of, and enforcement of the nuisance provision under this section.

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     23-23.7-10. Local enforcement. -- (a) The responsibility for the enforcement of this

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chapter shall be with the local municipal building authority or such other local building official as

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a municipality may designate by ordinance.

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     (b) The municipality shall design, by ordinance all mechanisms through which nuisance

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complaints will be investigated and what agency within that municipality, in conjunction with the

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state DEM or DOH, shall execute any orders for corrective actions or cease and desist orders.

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     (c) It shall be incumbent upon the municipal agency performing the inspection of any

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OHH to submit a record of all findings and necessary corrective actions with a compliance

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completion time-limit to the operator of the OHH and the municipal building inspector.

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      23-23.7-11. Notice to buyers. -- (a) Prior to the execution of a sale for a new or used

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OHH, the distributor/seller shall provide the prospective buyer with a copy of this chapter and

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written notice which includes;

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     (1) An acknowledgement that the buyer was provided with a copy of this chapter as well

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as DEM Air Pollution Control Regulation No. 48;

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     (2) A list of approved fuels;

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     (3) A statement that even if the requirements set forth in this chapter are met, there may

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be ordinances imposed by the buyer’s municipality or findings of adverse effects by the director

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of DEM or the director of DOH that may limit or prohibit the use of the purchased OHH.

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     (b) The notice shall be signed and dated by the buyer and the distributor/seller when the

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sale of the OHH is completed. The name and address of owner, name of the manufacturer, and

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the model and date of manufacture of the OHH shall be included in the completed notice.

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     (c)A copy of the signed written notice required pursuant to subsection (b) above, shall be

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kept on file by the municipal building authority in which the OHH will be installed for a period

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not less than three (3) years from the date of approval of the building permit, and shall be made

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available upon request for copying and/or inspection by the director of DEM or the director of

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DOH.

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     (d) If the sale is a private, or out of state sale, it will be incumbent upon the building

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official of the municipality in which the OHH will be installed to provide the documents listed in

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subsection 23-23.11(a) and follow the acknowledgement procedure in subsection 23-23.11(b)

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prior to issuing a building permit for the installation.

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     23-23.7-12. Financial hardship permits. – Any person, other than those regulated by

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section 23-23.7-2, who purchased and installed a wood-fired hydronic heater other than a

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certified Phase 1 or 2 unit on the lot of a residential dwelling prior to January 1, 2012, whose

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income, when combined with the income of all other members of his or her household, is less

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than two hundred fifty percent (250%) of the federal poverty level may continue to operate or use

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said OHH wood stove until May 1, 2018.

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     23-23.7-13. Common law rights preserved. – The operation or use of an outdoor wood-

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fired hydronic heater in any manner that creates a nuisance or interferes with the health, safety, or

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welfare of any person is prohibited. All public or private rights of action in nuisance, negligence,

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or otherwise are preserved.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC00867

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY - OUTDOOR WOOD-FIRED HYDRONIC

HEATERS

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     This act would regulate the sale and installation of outdoor wood-fired hydronic heaters.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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LC00867

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